Raj Persaud

Raj Persaud
Rajendra Persaud

Raj Persaud at Humber Mouth, 30 June 2007.
Born 13 May 1963 (1963-05-13) (age 48)
Reading, England
Occupation Psychiatrist,
TV and radio presenter
Website
http://www.rajpersaud.com

Rajendra Persaud (Hindi: राजेन्द्र परसौद), also known as Raj Persaud (Hindi: राज परसौद), born 13 May 1963, Reading, Berkshire is an English consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster, and author of popular books about psychiatry.

Raj Peraud is the son of Trinidadian mother Dr. Lakshmi Persaud, novelist, of Indian origin, and Guyanese father Prof. Bishnodat Persaud. He is well known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media; and has published five popular books, and has received numerous awards.

On 16 June 2008 Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging articles mentioned in his book From The Edge Of The Couch, but denied deliberate plagiarism when he faced the General Medical Council's "fitness to practise panel".[1] Passages of Professor Richard Bentall's work had been copied without quotation marks or other adequate reference on the corresponding pages of one of Persaud's popular books, although Persaud had obtained the author's permission to include the material. On 19 June 2008 he was found guilty of dishonesty and bringing the profession into disrepute by the GMC, but it was accepted that there was no financial incentive at work.[2] It was announced on 20 June by the GMC that his fitness to practise was impaired, and he was suspended from practising for three months.[3][4]

He pronounces his surname /pɚˈsɔːd/ pər-sawd. He lives in Central London and is married to an eye surgeon who works at Moorfields Eye Hospital. They have a son and a daughter.[5]

Contents

Academic career

Persaud was educated at the Haberdashers' Aske's School (an independent school in Elstree, just north of London) and at University College London, where he read for his degrees in medicine and psychology. His first year at UCL was marred by failure after he was forced to re-sit the examinations in anatomy, which he attributed later to availing himself too freely of the other educational opportunities there.[6] He told the British Medical Journal that this left him “traumatised,” and he compensated by virtually taking up residence in the college library and eventually achieving at least three degrees, four diplomas and a membership examination:[7]

BSc (Hons) London 1983 (1st Class Honours in Psychology: an intercalated degree)

MB BS London 1986

DHMSA 1988 (Diploma in History of Medicine, Society of Apothecaries)

Dip Phil 1990 (Poss. University of London External System: equivalent to 1st year of BA)

MRCPsych 1990 (Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists)

MPhil London 1991 (Prob. in psychiatry, through the Institute of Psychiatry)

Diploma in Health Economics 1994

MSc 1995 City University London (Statistics)

He was a psychiatric trainee at the Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospital in London, a research scholar and post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the USA in 1990 and a research worker at the Institute of Neurology of UCL. In 2000 he was awarded a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 made a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is also a Fellow of the Society of Apothecaries.

Persaud resigned from his position as consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust in October 2008, following a 3-month suspension by the General Medical Council for dishonesty.[8] He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of London and has a Visiting Professor role as Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry. In 2002 he was voted one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the Institute of Psychiatry and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, published in the Independent on Sunday newspaper.

Media career

Persaud regularly appeared on radio and TV programmes, as either interviewee or presenter, and was resident psychiatrist on the well-known daytime television programme This Morning. In addition to writing regularly for The Daily Telegraph and The Independent, Persaud also had columns in the Times Educational Supplement, Cosmopolitan and Canary Wharf CityLife magazine. He is a former presenter of the BBC Radio 4 psychology and psychiatry programme All in the Mind. He was a presenter for Travels of the Mind for BBC World Service.

Persaud has appeared on numerous talk-shows such as Richard & Judy and Anne & Nick promoting psychiatric treatments for mental health-related issues. With the GP Mark Porter, he co-presented the live medical-talk and phone-in TV programme Doctor, Doctor on Channel Five.

He has written several books, including his guide to romance, Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep your Perfect Partner. In 2007, he was the consulting editor of a book produced by The Royal College of Psychiatrists called The Mind: A user's guide.

Persaud's media work has earned him a mixed reception. Francis Wheen, then a Guardian columnist claimed he is "paid a lot of money for stating the obvious". The comedian, GP and columnist Dr Phil Hammond though, applauds Persaud for his populist appeal. Hammond believes he is a "good media communicator" for the psychiatric industry, albeit lacking the sophistication of the late Anthony Clare.[9][10]

Persaud has worked extensively in the NGO sector. He is a patron of OCD-UK, a British charity for people affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Persaud also works with ActionAid, and recently visited Bangladesh with them. He visits other developing nations to promote a psycho-pharmacological approach to mental health.[citation needed]

Plagiarism

In 2005 Persaud was accused of plagiarism. Thomas Blass, professor of psychology and proponent of the psychiatric Milgram Test at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, alleged that a large proportion of Persaud's article in Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry (Volume 9, Issue 2) had been extracted without correct reference from Blass's original work on Stanley Milgram's 1963 'compliance' experiments, as had an earlier article in the Times Educational Supplement. Persaud claimed this had been due to an editing rather than a typographical error, and offered to apologise for not crediting Blass. Persaud had invited Blass to introduce Blass's work on Stanley Milgram to a wider audience through Radio 4's "All in the Mind" program which Persaud hosted and the interview was broadcast on November 30, 2004.[11]

An article about Scientology's relationship to psychiatry in The Independent of June 30, 2005 was found to have used arguments from discussions of a publication of the Canadian Professor Stephen A. Kent without total and complete attribution.[12] The paper blamed a "production error" and altered the article in its web archives to properly attribute Kent.[13]

In December 2005, it was announced that two of his articles would be retracted from the British Medical Journal and Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry publications, while his work was reviewed by a panel from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College.

Following a report by Brian Deer[14] in The Sunday Times, in April 2006, the College decided that the allegations against Persaud "were of a nature which could be addressed at 'departmental level' (i.e. Institute of Psychiatry) without the need to initiate a formal inquiry."[15] Later that month, Persaud resigned as presenter of the BBC Radio 4 programme All In The Mind because of the ongoing controversy,[16] but returned temporarily in 2007.[17]

In December 2007, the same issues of alleged plagiarism were brought to the attention of the General Medical Council by a group affiliated to the Scientology movement, who have a noted anti-psychiatric position.[18] concerning the work of Professor Richard Bentall, who had published an anti-psychiatric book. Bentall told the GMC tribunal that he was "flabbergasted" at the blatancy of Persaud's deceit, which, he told the GMC panel, had come to his attention in a phone call from Brian Deer. However, Bentall noted that Persaud had asked him permission to quote his work, which he had given, and Bentall had been sent a copy of the book.[19]

In the hearing in June 2008, Persaud admitted to inadequately acknowledging four articles for his book From The Edge Of The Couch, but denied that his actions brought his profession into disrepute. The book attempts to popularise 100 famous cases in psychiatry.[20] Persaud appeared before the GMC from 16 June,[21][22] where Dr Anthony Morgan, chair of the GMC Fitness to Practise panel told Persaud:

"You are an eminent psychiatrist with a distinguished academic record who has combined a clinical career as a consultant psychiatrist with work in the media and journalism. The panel is of the view that you must have known that your actions in allowing the work of others to be seen as though it was your own would be considered dishonest by ordinary people. The panel has therefore determined that your actions were dishonest in accordance with the accepted definition of dishonesty in these proceedings. The panel has determined that your actions, in plagiarising the work of others, were liable to bring the profession into disrepute."[23]

Found guilty of bringing the profession into disrepute on 19 June,[23] on 20 June, the GMC came to the conclusion that Dr Persaud's "fitness to practise is impaired,"[24] and he was suspended from practising for three months.

It emerged in the judgement that the matter was brought to the attention of the GMC by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organisation founded by senior members of the Scientology movement.[25]

In summing up, the Chairman of the GMC Panel, Dr Anthony Morgan, explained that in deciding on the length of the suspension, the panel took into account that there had been no patient harm, that his plagiarism was not financially motivated, that it did not relate to research fraud and that it was unlikely to be repeated.[26]

In a statement issued through the Medical Protection Society[2], Dr Persaud said: "I am saddened by the findings and decision of the GMC, which relates to material published in 2004 and 2005. These matters have been under investigation since 2005.

"As I said during the hearing, I accept that my use of the work of some authors lacked adequate acknowledgement. I have apologised repeatedly for this during the hearing, and I apologise for this now. I am saddened that this occurred while I was seeking to promote the work of academics to the wider public. I am grateful for the support of so many colleagues, patients and members of the public who have contacted the GMC and myself to offer their support to me at this difficult time. Mental illness and psychological problems are much misunderstood, but extremely common predicaments which still require energetic efforts to de-stigmatise. I hope to be allowed to continue with this work in the future."

Other allegations of plagiarism

In the 11 July 2008 edition of Private Eye, it was revealed that in addition to alleged plagiarism that Persaud attributed to a "cutting and pasting" error in a book he published in 2003 and another instance of plagiarism in 2005 which he blamed on the sub-editors at the Times Educational Supplement, back in 1995 Persaud had allegedly lifted many instances of phrases, observations and statistics from a book on prostitution by Sheron Boyle for a piece he wrote for the Daily Mail.[27] Private Eye has also alleged that Persaud also made unacknowledged and ill-informed changes to chapters written by other psychiatrists for a book he was editing, causing at least one of them to threaten to withdraw from the project.

Awards

  • Denis Hill Prize, 1991 [28]
  • Osler Medal, 1991 [29]
  • Fellow of University College London, 2000
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2004
  • Tony Thistlethwaite Award Commendation for Excellence (Medical Journalists' Association), 2005
  • Morris Markow Prize Royal College of Psychiatrists 2005

Publications

  • Staying Sane: How to Make your Mind Work for You. September 1997 (Metro). ISBN 1900512386
  • From the Edge of the Couch. March 2003 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0553813463 (Book containing plagiarised material)
  • The Motivated Mind. March 2005 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0553813455
  • Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep Your Perfect Partner. Jan 2007 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0593055888
  • The Mind: A User's Guide. July 2007 (Bantam Press). ISBN 0593056353

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Media doctor found guilty of plagiarism". NRI doctors. 2008-06-20. http://www.nriinternet.com/NRIdoctors/A_UK/A_Z/P/Raj_Persaud/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 
  2. ^ "Media doctor guilty of disrepute". BBC. 2008-06-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7464210.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-19. 
  3. ^ "Media doctor hit with suspension". BBC News. 2008-06-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7465539.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  4. ^ BBC Radio 4 6pm news bulletin
  5. ^ "Professor Raj Persaud: Visiting Gresham Professor of Psychiatry". Gresham College. http://www.gresham.ac.uk/text.asp?PageId=33. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
  6. ^ Persaud, Raj (2002). "Ten books". British Journal of Psychiatry 181 (3): 258–261. doi:10.1192/bjp.181.3.258. http://www.bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/181/3/258 
  7. ^ The Medical Directory 2006/07. 2 (162 ed.). London: Informa Healthcare. 2006. pp. 2627–8 
  8. ^ James Sturcke and Martin Wainwright, "Disgraced Raj Persaud quits as consultant at leading hospital", The Guardian, 24 October 2008
  9. ^ "A few deaths may be the price we'll have to pay for saving resources". The Independent (London). http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19970923/ai_n14130959. Retrieved 2008-06-18. [dead link]
  10. ^ "King of the media shrink pack?". British Medical Journal. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/312/7040/1234. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ Pidd, Helen (2005-12-28). "TV psychiatrist's bosses investigate plagiarism claims". London: The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1674338,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
  13. ^ "Raj Persaud: A dangerous war on psychiatry". London: The Independent. 2005-06-30. http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article295712.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
  14. ^ "Persaud told to withdraw book in plagiarism row". The Sunday Times (reprint). 2006-04-16. http://briandeer.com/persaud-raj.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
  15. ^ "Statement regarding Dr Raj Persaud". King's College London. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details_2006.php?news_id=43. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
  16. ^ "Plagiarism row dogs radio doctor". BBC NEWS. 2006-04-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4872026.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
  17. ^ "All in the Mind". BBC Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/allinthemind.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
  18. ^ Pidd, Helen (2007-12-04). "Psychiatrist to face plagiarism charges at GMC hearing". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/04/persaud. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  19. ^ Wainwright, Martin (2008-06-18). "Persaud's blatant cribs were flabbergasting, professor tells tribunal". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/18/mentalhealth.health. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
  20. ^ "Media doctor admits to plagiarism". BBC NEWS. 2008-06-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7452877.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-16. 
  21. ^ Batty, David (2008-06-16). "Raj Persaud: TV psychiatrist admits plagiarism". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/16/mentalhealth.health. Retrieved 2008-06-21. 
  22. ^ Wainwright, Martin (2008-06-17). "Media psychiatrist fights for his job". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jun/17/mentalhealth.health. Retrieved 2008-06-21. 
  23. ^ a b "Media doctor guilty of disrepute". BBC. 2008-06-19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7464210.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-19. 
  24. ^ "Media doctor hit with suspension". BBC News. 2008-06-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7465539.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-21. 
  25. ^ Jenkins, Russell (2008-06-21). "TV psychiatrist Raj Persaud suspended for plagiarism". London: The Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4179597.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-21. 
  26. ^ Jenkins, Russell (2008-06-21). "TV psychiatrist Raj Persaud suspended for plagiarism". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4179597.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  27. ^ "First Daze of the Raj" in Private Eye no 1214, 11–24 July 2008, p25
  28. ^ The Denis Hill Award http://conferences.theiet.org/achievement/student/hill.cfm
  29. ^ The Osler Memorial Medal http://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/news/osler-memorial-medal

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